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USC 99
|Row 3 title = Participants |Row 3 info = 49 |Row 4 title = Debuting countries |Row 4 info = None |Row 5 title = Returning countries |Row 5 info = , , , , , , , , |Row 6 title = Withdrawing countries |Row 6 info = , , , , , , , , , |Row 7 title = Winner |Row 7 info = Man with a Mission "Dead end in Tokyo" |Row 8 title = Timeline |Row 8 info = ◄ Sydney 98 Tokyo 100 ► }} Universong 99 was the ninety-ninth edition of the Universong Contest, held in the Italian city of Naples. That was the eighth Italian production of the Universong Contest, and the first after having hosted USC 95 in Rome, thanks to the winning of Italian-Albanian singer Ermal Meta with the song "Vietato morire" on the previous edition held in Sydney, Australia. 49 countries competed in this edition, without any debuting countries. Even though, there were some important returns: Albania (whose last participation was in USC 94), Austria (last participation in USC 91), Canada (last participation in USC 96), Japan (last participation in USC 90), Liechtenstein (last participation in USC 94), Monaco (last participation in USC 97), Romania (last participation in USC 92) and Ukraine (last participation in USC 94). All those returning countries have participated at least once in recent Universong editions. For the first time, the Universong title went to a country in the Far East, who also returned to the competition. Japan conequered its first USC title ever for that country, thanks to the band Man with a Mission, with the song "Dead end in Tokyo". Japan received 172 points, received seven sets of 12 points (coming from Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Israel, Lithuania, Serbia and South Korea), despite coming just third with the finalists, and second with the non-finalists. This is the best result ever for Japan at a country level in the Universong Contest, in its fifth appearance ever in a USC Grand Final, improving its record 12th place from USC 61. In second place, England earned that place for the second time in the last five editions. Birdy became the fourth artist to achieve twice the runner-up position, after Sweden's Molly Sandén, Croatia's Severina and Italy's Marco Mengoni. This time, she achieved it with the song "Not about angels", from the soundtrack of the movie The fault in our stars. Despite only receiving three sets of 12 points (from Bulgaria, Croatia and Wales), it received 159 points, 13 less than Japan, and was the runner-up of the finalists votes, while just eighth with the non-finalists. This placement is the third top-5 finish for England in a row, though far from the success of previous editions. The third place was captured by Finland, being this the fourth time this country gets this place, and being also the first top-5 finish since USC 89. The song "Circle of light" by Emma, fan favourite from the Finland's Eurovision UMK, captured 157 points and three sets of 12 points (from Argentina, Australia and Chile), while fifth with the finalists and third with the non-finalists. The difference between the three contenders was a closed one, since until Japan became a runaway leader in the last two votes, becoming unclear if either the former, England or Finland would be the winners, turning this voting as an exciting one. The top 10 of this edition was completed with the songs from South Africa (winner of the finalists vote), France (Big 3 member and winner of the non-finalists vote), Germany (fourth qualification in a row), The Netherlands (represented by Chef'Special), Iceland (fourth time in a row this country gets a top-10 placement), Moldova (first top-10 placement since USC 89) and Ukraine (the surprise of this edition). About the city Naples is the capital of the Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy, after Rome and Milan. In 2015, around 975,260 people lived within the city's administrative limits. The Metropolitan City of Naples had a population of 3,115,320. Naples is the 9th-most populous urban area in the European Union with a population of between 3 million3 and 3.7 million. About 4.4 million people live in the Naples metropolitan area, one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea. Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC. A larger colony – initially known as Parthenope, Παρθενόπη – developed on the Island of Megaride around the ninth century BC, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages. The city was refounded as Neápolis in the sixth century BC and became a lynchpin of Magna Graecia, playing a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society and eventually becoming a cultural centre of the Roman Republic.Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II. Much of the city's 20th-century periphery was constructed under Benito Mussolini's fascist government, and during reconstruction efforts after World War II. In recent decades, Naples has constructed a large business district, the Centro Direzionale, and has developed an advanced transport infrastructure, including an Alta Velocità high-speed rail link to Rome and Salerno, and an expanded subway network, which is planned to eventually cover half of the region. The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city and surrounding Campania have decreased since 1999. However, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption, and unemployment levels remain high. Naples has the fourth-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan, Rome and Turin. It is the world's 103rd-richest city by purchasing power, with an estimated 2011 GDP of US$83.6 billion. The port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe, and has the world's second-highest level of passenger flow, after the port of Hong Kong. Numerous major Italian companies, such as MSC Cruises Italy S.p.A, are headquartered in Naples. The city also hosts NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the SRM Institution for Economic Research and the OPE Company and Study Centre. Naples is a full member of the Eurocities network of European cities. The city was selected to become the headquarters of the European institution ACP/UE and was named a City of Literature by UNESCO's Creative Cities Network. The Villa Rosebery, one of the three official residences of the President of Italy, is located in the city's Posillipo district. Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) and enclosing 27 centuries of history, and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Naples has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous culturally and historically significant sites, including the Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Culinarily, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. Neapolitan music has furthermore been highly influential, credited with the invention of the romantic guitar and the mandolin, as well as notable contributions to opera and folk standards. Popular characters and historical figures who have come to symbolise the city include Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, the comic figure Pulcinella, and the Sirens from the Greek epic poem the Odyssey. According to CNN, the metro stop "Toledo" is the most beautiful in Europe and it won also the LEAF Award '2013 as "Public building of the year". Naples is the Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide. Naples' sports scene is dominated by football and Serie A club S.S.C. Napoli, two-time Italian champions and winner of European trophies, who play at the San Paolo Stadium in the south-west of the city. Semifinal 1 In this semifinal, the 23 semifinalists plus shall vote in this semifinal. will decide in which semifinal it'll vote. The rest of the countries can vote too, but their votes will be counted as Rest of the World. Semifinal 2 In this semifinal, the 23 semifinalists plus shall vote in this semifinal. will decide in which semifinal it'll vote. The rest of the countries can vote too, but their votes will be counted as Rest of the World. Grand Final Split Results Finalists/Non-Finalists Returning artists Special Awards Bartek Award Best Non-English Award hph01 Award Category:Universong Contest